Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead)

First of all, let me apologize for my absence. I really haven’t been meaning to neglect all of you faithful readers. Really, I haven’t. In fact, I have been working on this blog post for almost an entire week!!! My computer is on its last leg, and it is making it nearly impossible for me to do anything technology-related. So, so sorry! But, don’t worry. I might have a new computer on the way. Wow! That would be incredible. Alright, enough of that. Let’s talk about this awesome experience that went down last weekend.

So, my friend Clau invited me, Cammie, and Renee on a trip to Michoacán with her family. Michoacán is a state located in the west of Mexico and is known for its artesanías (crafts) and its Día de Muertos celebrations, which is why we were headed there. On Friday afternoon before our departure, Clau took us to CU (Ciudad Universitaria or UNAM’s main campus) to check out the ofrendas (offerings).

As I explained in the previous post, el Día de Muertos is celebrated on November 1 and 2. It is a time to remember and prepare special foods in honor of those that have died. In order to celebrate, families make altars and decorate them with objects like pan de muerto (bread of the dead), calaveras (candy sugar skulls), candles, cempazúchiles (marigolds), a photo of the deceased person, and other items the person liked. Papel picado (cut tissue paper) decorates the streets, and death is, in a sense laughed at.

The ofrendas at CU were created by students and faculty, and each ofrenda represented a different branch of the university. Every year a specific deceased person is chosen to be honored, and this year’s individual was Edgar Allan Poe. Some ofrendas were more elaborate than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the variety and creativity involved.

On Friday afternoon, Clau’s mom, dad, and little brother Jorge arrived in DF from Puebla. They came by way of the camioneta (van), which would be better known as the cohete (spaceship). Check that thing out! It was fully stocked with camping gear (our original plan was to camp in Michoacán), and it had enough room inside to fit a small circus. We met at Diego’s apartment (Clau’s brother) and the eight of us departed from there. After a 5-hour journey, we arrived in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán. Morelia happens to be a beautiful colonial city with lots Spanish architecture, and no end to the amount of mariachis to be found. Although the air was brisk, it was fun to walk around the city and see the quaint buildings glowing in the night.

On Saturday morning, we stopped by the town of Quiroga on our way to Pátzcuaro. In Quiroga, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of corundas, square-like tamales with red salsa and crema that are local chow there, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. We got a chance to explore the small town and nearby market, and later on we met up with some of Clau’s relatives.

Afterwards, we boarded our spaceship again and headed off to the archeological site of Tzitzuntzan (seen-soon-sahn), located on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro. The city of Tzitzuntzan was the Purépecha Indian Empire when Cortés arrived in 1522. Although the site was under construction when we went, it was neat to see some of the completed pyramids. Their round bases make them quite unique. In addition, the view from the plateau was wonderful—the surrounding lake sparkled in the early afternoon light. It was fun to sit in the grass, drink in the fresh air, feel the sun on your face, and appreciate nature’s creations.

After our archeological excursion, we went to Santa Clara del Cobre, a little city near Pátzcuaro that is well-known for its copper artisans. Much of the copper creations are made from recycled copper. It was fun to walk through the little shops on the main road and admire the beautifully-crafted copper objects. From bracelets, to kitchen sinks, to mirrors there was no limit to the variety of shiny creations. For lunch, we stopped at a little restaurant that overlooked Lake Pátzcuaro. We ate some local dishes, one of which was charales. Charales (pictured above) are breaded and fried minnows that are eaten in tacos with lime, tomato, and guacamole. In case you were wondering, you eat the entire minnow—eyeballs, tail, bones, and all. And yes, I did partake in the sampling of this crazy appetizer!

On Saturday night, we ventured back to Morelia to watch a fireworks and light show at the cathedral. The cathedral looked very elegant glowing in its red, green, and yellow lights, and the fireworks added some flare/flair. It was neat to look up into the night sky and see the almost-full moon glowing in the foggy air. Oooo, kind of spooky.

On Sunday morning, we went to Pátzcuaro’s zócalo to browse the crafts market and see the ofrendas. On our way there, we were held up by horse traffic on the side of the road. There were literally hundreds of men on horseback trotting along the side of the highway (some with beers in hand!) In addition, we were stopped by a group of young children asking for candy/money to put in their calaveritas (carved pumpkin). They held up a rope in the middle of the rope and shouted, “¡No hay paso, no hay paso!” (You can’t pass, you can’t pass!) so that they could get us to put something in their calaverita. I guess this is the Mexican version of trick-or-treat :-). In Pátzcuaro’s zócalo, we enjoyed a snack of nieves de pasta, a local type of ice cream.

Later on we got to observe the Baile de los Viejitos (Dance of the Old Ones) in the central plaza. All of the dancers were dressed in traditional embroidered clothing and wore masks that looked like the faces of old men. In addition, they wore flat sandals to make the distinct click-clacking sound and straw hats adorned with colorful ribbons. What made the dance so memorable was that this little boy from the audience dressed in a skeleton costume decided to join in. He got so into the dancing that the real bailadores incorporated him into to their show. He had the audience cracking up because he was so serious about his dance moves.

At about 7:00 on Sunday night, we headed over to the island of Janitzio where the big Día de Muertos celebration happens. We had to wait for almost an hour before we boarded a lancha (boat) that took us across the lake to the island. The lights on the island sparkled in the chilly November air, and once we docked, we began our ascent up the crowded but very festive island.

We stopped by the cemetery which was decorated with bunches of cempasúchiles (marigolds). Each grave was adorned with an ofrenda and the candlelight created an almost inviting (rather than spooky) atmosphere. It was neat to see different people at each grave remembering their loved ones who had passed away.

We stayed on the island late into the night, and the next day we returned to DF. I enjoyed being adopted by a Mexican family for a weekend. I can honestly say that Clau and her family were a bunch troopers throughout the entire weekend. What an adventure!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I attended a Mexican wedding yesterday, so there should be more on that soon!

Click for more pictures!

Abrazos, Nicole